Seeing Massive Attack for the first time and realizing I would have appreciated it so much more 10 years ago

I was tired today. That was due to the fact that I was at the Massive attack concert at the Globen Annexet last night. Not a wild night out by any means, I just happened to notice that they would be playing.

This transported my thoughts into a distant time in the past. It was 1998 and I was wearing "the cucumber salad", the camouflage of the 90's pattern, that is. I had heard some from Massive Attack's brand new "Mezzanine", and I thought it sounded seriously cool. So, come the rare free strecth of time, I was reclining in a comfy chair at the brigade library, and listened through the album. Back then, at the verge of proper adulthood, I was dreaming of farway places, looking to one roam all the continents, and getting all the adventure and copious amounts of sexual experiences a young man can desire.

And now MA was to perform live. The same day. And I have to work the next day. Pendla. Talk about customer relationship management. Fraud prevention. With somewhat mixed feelings I surfed to ticnet.se and bought a ticket. Had a beer.



Here is Globen, the relatively large ice hockey arena in Southern Stockholm. Looming in the background like a massive red moon. The picture is fuzzy, because I was using my mobile phone camera (only 3.2 megapixel). The regular camera is refusing all cooperation at the moment.

The place and the people

To the gig. A quick beer in bar and the show is on. We start with an eerie red light, poking forth from behind the stage like a sign of the presence of a malevolent artificial intellect.



The massive, electronic soundwall and the striking lighting soon stops my yawns. The gig is as much as an art installation as a concert. The band, including two drummers, works in front of a massive video wall. This element will be used creatively during the show.



The crowd is, again, very mixed. This must be a Swedish thing. Middle aged wives of intellectual looking (the eyeglasses, kavaj and grayish stubble-look) guys moving their bodies with restraint. Not that many young people at all. Still they only sell folköl in the actual Annexet. Strange.

It was the 90's when Massive Attack was big, and Bristol sound was everywhere, but its not that long ago. Or is it? Just me getting older, rather.



Questioned truths and trendy world-vision

Now that the financial crisis has done its worst and some underpinnings of how systems work are questioned by also others than professional thinkers (what a sane exercise, too bad this usually requires a disaster to happen), commenting on the global issues such as poverty, war and inequality has become a major trend amongst celebrities. Here Massive Attack puts its penny forth in this issue as well.

Not that long ago I saw Madonna live at the Ullevi stadium in Gothenburg (thats was a first of those as well for me). She had impressive effects on stage as well, and a very definitive societal message incorporated into the show using the videowalls. So did Massive Attack. The music was topped-up with some brain candy. The video board rolled out some horse-sized figures for comparison. Say "MCLAREN F1 CAR, £ [insert astronomical sum]" and then "COST OF A COMMUNITY WORKER IN KENYA, ONE YEAR $ 1500", "AMOUR AMOUR DOG COLLAR $ 18 00 000", and then "COST OF COMMUNITY CENTRE, A YEAR $ 15 000" etc.



Also represented were some UK and Swedish themes. For UK, the sights had been set on the new initiative to get an ID for everybody. This has traditionally roused stiff resistance in that privacy-loving island. This commotion seems rather comical, considering that probably all nordics probably more or less always carry IDs.

Anyway, Sweden was covered also in Swedish. "REGERING SKA SPIONERA VARJE SAMTAL" etc. The innocent need not to worry! I found the "ANNA ANKA'S BLUFF AVSLÖJAD" a lot more funny. Again, as a Nordic person I usually find the Orwellian scare rather amusing. All in all, this works rather well. Far from corny self-aggrandisement practised by some grandiose celebrities and rock stars who spend time 'solving' the world's problems on the pages of gossip magazines, MA does an installation of sound, video, and interesting contrasts of information, turning the event into a something you could have in a gallery. And walk out pleased with all the stuff they rolled out for your entertainment. Lagom almost. But what was the thing with folköl? That's not lagom.